This German apple cake is loaded with fresh apples. It is simple to put together and tastes great. The cinnamon brown sugar cream cheese frosting takes it to the next level of deliciousness!
A simple but delicious German apple cake is always a hit, especially when topped with cream cheese frosting. I gave mine a cinnamon brown sugar cream cheese frosting twist that knocked it right on out of the park!
German apple cakes have always been a hit in my eyes. They would occasionally make an appearance at a fall get together and the combination of flavorful cake and cream cheese frosting is just perfect.
I love how easily the cake batter comes together. There is nothing fancy or complicated about it.
The hardest part is prepping the apples and it’s worth every ounce of effort. The resulting cake is full of soft apple chunks.
There is a perfect balance of sweet and spice. There isn’t so much cinnamon that you can’t taste the apples, just enough to tickle your taste buds.
Then there’s the texture. It’s a denser cake, but in a good way. All of those apples help make it that way.
It almost reminds me of a cross between a blondie and the cake mix box texture you might be used to. The edges are slightly crispy, it forms a slightly crackly crust and the inside is moist and delicious.
Just thinking of it makes me want to run to the kitchen and bake another! I would hear no complaints about it either.
Honestly you could probably stop there and serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and have an out of this world experience. But in my world cakes need frosting!
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That’s part of what I loved about these cakes growing up, the cream cheese frosting! Its the creamy and slightly tangy topping that brings it together.
Plus that layer of cream cheese frosting almost makes it the apple version of everyone’s favorite, pumpkin bars!
Now I could have left well enough alone and made the classic cream cheese frosting we all know and love. But that’s not really my style, now is it?
After a few minutes of staring at my pantry, an idea struck. Why not warm up the cream cheese frosting with brown sugar?
Why not, indeed! So of course I did.
And while we are warming things up, why not some cinnamon as well? I’m sure your experience with me thus far and the recipe title told you where I fell on that as well. 😉
And I’m glad I did. The results were still the creamy goodness with slight tang you’d expect from cream cheese frosting, but with a little something more.
As I do with most cakes, I brought it to family dinner at my parents’ house. Despite a large dinner, the cake basically disappeared. Even my husband went crazy over it.
He was disappointed when he learned it was gone before he got a second piece. He should know by now he has to act fast for that sort of thing.
Little Dude and I polished off what was left the next day after lunch. I’m sure we invited him to join too…. or maybe not!
German Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
German Apple Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups peeled and chopped apples
Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3 Tablespoons butter softened
- 1 pinch salt
- 2¼ cups powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- toasted pecans or caramel sauce optional toppings
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9×13″ pan.
- In large bowl, beat together 3 large eggs, 2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt until combined.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and then fold in 4 cups peeled and chopped apples.
- Spread batter in prepared pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. (A few wet crumbs are ok)
- Cool completely
Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat together 12 ounces cream cheese, 1 pinch salt, and 3 Tablespoons butter until smooth and fluffy.
- Add 2¼ cups powdered sugar, ⅓ cup brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat for 2 minutes or until completely combined and smooth.
- Spread over cooled cake.
- Garnish with nuts or a drizzle of caramel if desired.
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Oh my goodness, gimmie a fork! I will take all of your apple desserts. Have a great week, Carlee!